1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a household circular knitting machine for knitting mufflers or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of conventional household circular knitting machines comprises a casing body having a central hollow interior having a circular section and a cylindrical holder rotatably mounted in the hollow interior of the casing body. A ring cam is fixed on the casing body so as to be coaxial with the holder. A rotational shaft is rotatably mounted on the casing body. The holder has an inner wall having a number of vertical grooves spaced into an annular arrangement. One knitting needle is provided to be vertically moved into and out of each vertical groove. The holder has an outer wall provided with a bevel gear having a generally large diameter. The ring cam has a cam face including an angled portion and a flat portion continuous to the angled portion. A lower end of each needle is abutted against the cam face. The rotational shaft has one end on which another bevel gear having a smaller diameter is mounted. The large bevel gear is brought into mesh engagement with the small bevel gear. The shaft further has the other end to which a handle is connected.
Wool yarn is hooked on a hook of every second needle. The handle is then operated to rotate the holder so that the knitting needles attached in the vertical grooves respectively are moved up and down by the cam action. As a result, the wool yarn is knitted into a knitting fabric. The knitted fabric is discharged little by little out of the hollow interior of the casing body through an opening formed through a lower portion of the side wall of the casing body.
In a case where the knitted goods are long, for example, a muffler, the knitted fabric is twined when discharged through the opening. Since the opening is narrow, the fabric does not naturally untwine. Accordingly, an untwining work is often required.
Further, the casing body moves when the handle is operated. Thus, it is difficult to turn the handle. The casing body needs to be held down with a hand when the handle is turned. As a result, the conventional knitting machine is inconvenient.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a knitting machine which can easily untwine the fabric and which is convenient.
The present invention provides a knitting machine comprising a casing body having a central hollow interior having a circular section, the casing body including a bottom, a cylindrical holder rotatably mounted in the hollow interior of the casing body, the holder having a number of vertical grooves formed in an inner circumference thereof so as to be annularly arranged at regular intervals, so that one knitting needle is inserted into each groove so as to be vertically moved into and out of each groove, the holder having an outer wall on which a first bevel gear is mounted, a ring cam fixed on the casing body so as to be coaxial with the holder, the cam having a cam face including an angled portion and a flat portion continuous with the angled portion, each knitting needle abutting the cam face, and a rotational shaft rotatably mounted on the casing body and having one of two ends on which a second bevel gear is mounted and the other end on which a handle is mounted, the second bevel gear having a smaller diameter than the first bevel gear and meshing with the first bevel gear. In the knitting machine, wool yarn is hooked on a hook of every second needle and the handle is operated to rotate the holder so that the knitting needles attached in the vertical grooves respectively are moved up and down by cam action, whereupon the wool yarn is knitted into a fabric, which is discharged out of the casing body through the hollow interior of thereof. The knitting machine further comprises at least two support legs detachably mounted on the bottom of the casing body so as to define, below the casing body, a space through which the knitted fabric is discharged.
According to the above-described construction, the support legs are mounted on the bottom of the casing body so as to define, below the casing body, a space through which the knitted fabric is discharged. Accordingly, the knitted fabric easily untwines even in the case where the knitted fabric is twined when discharged out of the casing body. Consequently, the fabric can smoothly be knitted.
In a preferred form, the knitting machine further comprises a fixture including a bolt having a hook engaging each one of the support legs, a bracket having a boss loosely fitted with the bolt and a presser formed integrally on the boss, and a nut screwed down on the bolt. In this machine, the hook is engaged with each support leg of the casing body placed on a working table and the nut is tightened up so that the bracket is pressed against an underside of the working table, whereupon the casing body is fixed to the working table.
The knitting machine is fixed on a side edge of the working table by the fixture. Accordingly, the casing body need not be pressed down by hand so as not to be moved. Consequently, the convenience of the knitting machine can be improved. Furthermore, since the fabric discharged out of the casing body hangs down from the table, it can easily untwine.